Cetaceans are nuts.
I saw a presentation about echolocation at UH where the analogy was made that the Navy's most sophisticated sonar is equivalent to AM radio, whereas a pseudorca has something more like broadband internet, with respect to the depth and breadth of the signal and total amount of information they receive.
A single "blast" of echolocation clicks was enough for the animal to discern between metal cylinders (so similar in dimensions that a human needs a micrometer to tell them apart) from 75 yards away.

The smarter and more social the animal is the more murderous and evil they can be. Chimps also fall into the category of "cute" animals that commit what we would describe as atrocities like war and cannibalism.

A friend of mine used to be a camp counselor who took kids to Sea World all summer, so he had some interesting info to share about the place. He's said (rumored) that Shamu likes to vomit, let it float to the top, then snatch up birds that try to eat it. Also, that the part of the dolphin show where it goes by and splashes the audience wasn't originally part of the show; it was something the dolphins like to do, possibly as an aggressive display. But now they have a little script that goes with it and they call it a trick.

A Navy guy I train with was telling me about how dolphins have been trained to spot mines, because they are great at sensing things in the water. He'd actually had some firsthand experience with these dolphins since so much amphibious naval stuff happens in Coronado (and Oceanside I guess).

Many claim that the benefits of sea food, specially for the fetus, far exceed the dangers of mercury. But in Hawaii we eat Mahi mahi, a dolphin fish wiki: "Mahi mahi are also known as dorado or dolphin fish. However, they are not at all related to dolphins. Dolphins are air-breathing mammals, whereas mahi mahi are water-breathing fish, distantly related to perch."

Fucking Japanese, whale slaughterers and dolphin eaters. "Hundreds of samples of dolphin meat tested from around Japan has all been shown to be toxic and far exceeds their own ministry of health recommendations. Some internal organ meat for sale at the Okura markets near Taiji was analyzed to have 5000 times more mercury than the health advisory of 0.4 ppm." The waters around Japan and China are some of the most polluted on Earth, hopefully they suffer for their culinary sins.

Here's an article that I liked (I know that some [the guy with horns?] feel pastes are gauche..

A number of years ago I visited Sea World in Orlando, Florida. The experience proved to be a formative one, as it would mark the last time I would ever visit an aquatic theme park. What I saw there at the dolphin show that day shattered all illusions I had about the treatment of dolphins at these parks, while at the same time demonstrating to me the obvious ways in which they can express their individuality and intentions—and how this is conveniently ignored by us in ways that are completely self-serving.

The show got off to a rocky start. As the cheesy performance music blared through the loudspeakers, the trainers enthusiastically marched to the stage and assumed their positions. They blew their high-pitched whistles and waited for the dolphins to do their part.

But the dolphins ignored the cue. They swam nervously in their holding tank, circling and circling.

The trainers tried again, but the dolphins remained steadfast. They weren't going anywhere.

So, the trainers stopped the show and addressed the audience. We were told that, as a hierarchical species, the leaders of the troop were preventing the rest of the dolphins from partaking in the show. The reason, they suspected, was on account of a looming storm.

Indeed, hurricane Ernesto was slated to hit the region in the next 24 hours, and it's likely that the dolphins, sensing the low pressure system, were in a state of agitation. The last thing they wanted to do at that moment was to follow commands and perform tricks.

Unfazed, the trainers said they weren't about to let the dolphins have their way and that they were going to try and try again until they performed the show as expected.

Once again, the trainers marched to their stations and the cheesy music began anew. After another short delay, the dolphins finally decided to take part. But I have to say, it was the most half-assed effort I've ever seen put on by dolphins. They consistently missed their cues and went about their jumps and tricks as if they were just going through the motions.

What was happening was blatantly obvious to anyone paying attention: Their hearts were simply not into it.

As I sat there watching this spectacle, I started to feel ill, and I suddenly regretted coming to the park. I was hit hit with a glaringly obvious realization.

These dolphins are slaves.

Indeed, we are making these highly intelligent and emotional animals perform tricks against their will. They are confined to ridiculously small tanks and expected to perform on cue—and should they refuse, they're beaten back to submission by an unrelenting crew of trainers who simply won't take no for an answer—even if it's in front of a live audience.

Now, I realize that the dolphin show brings a lot of money to these parks—but the dolphin tank has got to go. It's cruelty through and through. As nonhuman persons, dolphins need to be protected from these kinds of abuses. They are not ours to play with.

We have no right to compel dolphins to entertain us. They deserve better than that. Moreover, we have no right to contain them in this way. Dolphins need to swim. In fact, in the wild, dolphins swim an average of 65 to 85 kilometers per day. The tanks at these theme parks must feel intensely claustrophobic to them. It's torturous.

And as I learned on that day at Sea World, dolphins are also capable of expressing their discontent. They can show us when they're not happy and they can express their will. We need to start paying attention and put aside our petty desire to watch dolphins jump through hoops.

Incoming hippy comments:
I'm not sure which is crueller, the relatively small number of animals kept for visual entertainment or the large number of animals that are killed and kept in slavery for gorment entertainment (eating many animal products is a luxory, not an necessity for us).
I used to spend my summers on the water working for the local sailing course. On quite a few summers there'd be a few days where the dolphins would come into the bay and play with the dinghies. When you're sailing the animals that breach the surface, like dolphins and sun-fish are the highlights of the ocean species (unless you're eating them).

I haven't seen it on this thread yet, but anyone seriously advocating a boycott of animal parks must be ready to counter the argument of the balance of what they do. Does the parks' work in educating the audience do anything to balance the cruelty of captive species?